Citation Guide: MLA
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (8
th
edition, 2016)
• Copies are available at the SFU Library, call number: LB 2369 G53 2016
• This guide is available online at https://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/cite-
write/citation-style-guides/mla
• For example and practice sheets see the MLA website: https://style.mla.org/
This guide is based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 8th ed. and provides selected
citation examples for common types of sources. For more detailed information please consult the print
version of the MLA handbook.
Graduate students and professional writers might also need to consult the MLA Style Manual and Guide
to Scholarly Publishing, call number PN 147 G444 2008.
Keep track of your document references/citations and format your reference lists easily with citation
management software.
Information about select software can be found at
https://www.lib.sfu.ca/find/research-tools/citation-
software
General notes on MLA 8 style
The MLA citation style is generally used in the humanities (English, Philosophy, Music etc.). While the
8th edition provides detailed guidelines on how to create in-text and reference citations, it does not
include instructions on how to format your research paper. For proper MLA paper formatting guidelines,
refer to the 7th edition of the MLA handbook & the MLA Style Centre website.
MLA requires that the entire paper be double-spaced, including all the lines in the list of works cited (7th
edition - 4.2, 5.3.2).
All pages of the paper, including the list of works cited, need to be numbered consecutively and must
appear in the top right-hand corner of the page after your last name (7th edition - 4.4, 5.3.2).
You need to cite and document any sources that you have consulted, even if you presented the ideas
from these sources in your own words (7th edition - 5.1). You need to cite:
• To identify other people's ideas and information used within your essay
• To inform the reader of your paper where they should look if they want to find the same sources
• A citation must appear in two places in your paper:
• In the body of your paper ("in-text citations")
• In the list of works cited (at the end of your paper)
To introduce other people's ideas in your paper, use the following examples:
• Richardson argues, refers to, explains, hypothesizes, compares, concludes
• As Littlewood and Sherwin demonstrated, proved, ... etc.
• The electoral system that was adopted in Germany after the Second World War combined
majority decision rule and proportional representation (Wattenberg and Shugart 280).
Spelling: Use a standard English language dictionary, such as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary or
Canadian Oxford Dictionary.
Approach to citation
Today, a single document or publication is often produced and accessed in various formats and
mediums (for example, a film may be viewed on Netflix, DVD, or digital download, or through a public
viewing). Sometimes the medium of publication cannot be defined in simple terms. The 8th edition of
the MLA style guide reflects this wide range of publication formats; rather than providing strict
instructions on how to format a citation for specific types of sources, the guide now focuses on
the process of scholarly documentation. Therefore, the MLA Handbook does not list specific rules on
how to cite a DVD, a book, a journal article, etc., but instead outlines a universal set of general
guidelines of citation and documentation that can be applied to any source type.
These guidelines provide a basic model for citations: writers create citations, not by looking for specific
formulas for individual source types, but rather consulting MLA's list of core elements, and assembling
them in the standard order.
Core elements
The 8th edition of the MLA style guide identified "core elements" as basic pieces of information that
should be common to all source types (DVDs, print or digital books, journal articles, comments on blogs,
etc.) (pp. 20-54). The MLA core elements are as follows:
• Author
• Title of source
• Title of container
• Other contributors
• Version
• Number
• Publisher
• Publication date
• Location
If a particular core element is not deemed relevant to a particular source type, it can be omitted from
the citation. For example, a YouTube video may not be associated with a particular version, and the
works cited citation will therefore not include a version number (p. 20).
Note on containers: A source is sometimes part of a larger work. For example, a journal article is part of
a larger whole - the journal in which it was published. The journal, in turn, may be located in a database.
For citation purposes, the larger whole (ex. journal or a database) is a container.
Once you understand the basic principles of citation, you can apply them to any source type, without
concern to the actual format or medium of publication. While the MLA guidelines reflects this approach,
we have developed specific examples for commonly used source types for you.
Parenthetical (in-text citations)
If you directly quote from, summarize or use the ideas or arguments from a book or article, then list the
author's last name, followed by a space and the page number without any other punctuation (i.e., no
commas) (pp. 54-58; pp. 116-127, 3.1-3.6).
"Corporal punishment was employed as a legally impose penalty in Colonial America"
(Forer 142).
If you incorporate the author's name in the text of your paper, only provide the page number in
parentheses, for example:
Forer states that "corporal punishment was employed as a legally imposed penalty in Colonial
America" (142).
If a quotation is more than four lines when typed into your paper, begin the quotation double-spaced on
a new line that is indented by 2.5cm (1 inch). The quotation should be double-spaced. Do not use
quotation marks. Also note that the period is placed before the parenthetical citation (pp. 76-77, 1.3.2).
For example:
At the conclusion of My Side of the Mountain, Sam realized how much he had missed his family:
Then I jumped in the air and laughed for joy. I recognized my four year-old brother's
pleasure song. The family! Dad had brought the family! Every one of them. I ran,
twisting, and turning through the trees like a Cooper's hawk, and occasionally riding a
free fifty feet downhill on an aspen sapling. Dad gave me a resounding slap, and Mother
hugged me until she cried. I led them proudly up the mountain. (George 175)
Many electronic sources do not provide page numbers. Sometimes the source will have paragraph
numbers that you can use for your parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation "par." for a single
paragraph or "pars." for multiple paragraphs. Don't count paragraphs yourself if they are not indicated
on the document (p. 56; p. 96, 1.6.2).
Women talked of their aspirations relating to their clothes and of attempts to create images,
which were perceived as successful. (Martin par. 20)
If there are no page or paragraph numbers, the MLA guide recommends that you incorporate the name
of the author in the text of your paper:
Mitchell argues that there is a link between soda consumption and obesity.
You may indicate in your paper an approximate location of the cited passage:
In the final third of his article, Mitchell argues there is a link between soda consumption and
obesity.
Conversely, you can may also include only author information in the parenthetical citation (p. 56):
There is a link between soda consumption and obesity (Mitchell).
If you cite multiple works by the same author, place a comma after the author's last name in the
parenthetical (in-text) citation and add the title (in full or a shortened version if it is long) and the
relevant page reference, e.g., (Foucault, History of Madness 125) (p. 55; pp. 117-118, 3.2.1).
Works cited
At the end of your paper, you will list all your sources on a separate page entitled Works Cited (pp. 20-
54; pp. 102-116). The works cited entries are composed of the "core elements", and are given in the
order in which they are presented in the list above, along with the punctuation mark shown (unless it is
the final element in the citation, in which case it should end with period). Elements may be omitted if
they are deemed irrelevant or are absent. For example, if a work does not have an author, the works
cited entry would start with the title of the source (p. 24).
The works cited list is arranged alphabetically by the author's last name. If there is no author, use the
title of the source (p. 112, 2.7).
The works cited list is double-spaced throughout, both between and within entries. If a citation is more
than one line, the second line is indented by 1.25 cm (0.5 inches) (p. 112, 2.7).
Use the format of the author's name as it appears on the title page of a work (e.g. "Mooney, Jayne," or
"Danto, Arthur C.," or "Gibaldi, M. C.") (p. 21).
Journal articles
Parenthetical (in-text)
(Newmeyer 663)
Newmeyer argues in favour of "the classical Saussurean position with respect to the relationship
between knowledge of language and use of language" (682).
Works cited
To cite a journal article found in print
Newmeyer, Frederick J. "Grammar is Grammar and Usage is Usage." Language, vol. 79, no. 4, 2003, pp.
682-707.
To cite a journal article found online
Atewologun, Doyin, et al. "Revealing Intersectional Dynamics in Organizations: Introducing
'Intersectional Identity Work'." Gender, Work, & Organization, vol. 23, no. 3, 2016, pp. 223-
247. Academic Search Complete, doi:10.1111/gwao.12082. Accessed 14 June 2016.
Comments
• If the journal has only issue numbers and no volume numbers, then cite the issue number alone
(p. 40).
• If the article was found online through an online database, include the name of the database in
italics (e.g. Academic Search Premier, JSTOR), and the date of access (p. 32; p. 53).
• If there are no page numbers, write "n.pag." in place of page numbers.
• If there are no page or paragraph numbers, you can either incorporate the name of the author
in the text of your paper, or cite author's name in parentheses without a page or paragraph
number. Do not list any page number information in the Works Cited (p. 56).
• If the online article has paragraph or section numbers, use the abbreviations "par." or "sec."
(e.g. Manning par.4) (p. 96, 1.6.2). Do not count paragraphs yourself if they are not indicated in
the document (p. 56).
• If there is no author, use the title instead (pp. 55-56).
• For articles accessed online, provide DOI (Digital Object Identifier) information in place URLs
whenever possible (p. 110, 2.5.2).
Magazine article
Parenthetical (in-text)
(Ackerman 18-19)
Works Cited
To cite a magazine article found in print
Ackerman, Spenser. "Coming to America." New Republic, Summer 2006, pp. 18-21.
To cite a magazine article found online
Narine, Shari. "Judge's Ruling Could Be Felt in Métis Harvesting Trial." Alberta Sweetgrass, vol. 16, no.
11, Oct. 2009, p. 1. Canadian Points of View Reference Centre. ebscohost.com/pov/detail/detail
?sid=. Accessed 6 Nov. 2015.
Comments
• Give the date as presented in the source. Some periodicals may publish daily, weekly, monthly,
or once every season (p. 45).
• Some sources, especially those published online, may be associated with more than one
publication date. For example, a work online may also have been published in print previously.
In cases where there are multiple publication dates, cite the one most relevant to your use of
the work (pp. 42-43):
o ex. if you are accessing an article online that is also published in print, cite the online
publication date.
• If no author's name is given, begin the entry with the title.
• Month short forms: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec (p.
95, 1.6.1).
• If the article was found online through an online database, include the name of the database in
italics (e.g. CBCA Complete or MasterFILE Premier), and the date of access (p. 32; p. 53).
Newspaper article
Parenthetical (in-text)
(Kingston C6)
("Byword" A10) [Note: news article with no author]
Works Cited
To cite a newspaper article found in print
Kingston, Gary. "Canada's Coach Loves Waving the Flag." The Vancouver Sun, 4 July 2004, D2.
To cite a newspaper article found online
"Byword for 'Boondoggle'". Telegraph-Journal [Saint John], 6 Nov. 2009, A.10. Canadian Newsstand.
search.proquest.com/docview/423364517/777239750BF54027PQ/1?accountid=13800.
Accessed 6 Nov. 2015
Comments
• If there is no author, use the title (shortened, if necessary) in place of the author in your in-text
citations; start your Works Cited citation with full title (p. 24). For more information on how to
abbreviate titles, refer to p. 117, 3.2.1.
• If the article is on consecutive pages, specify the page range (e.g. pp. 4-6). If the article is
presented in non-consecutive pages (for example, if the article begins on page 5 and continues
on page 15), follow the first page number with a plus sign (e.g. pp. 5+) (p. 110, 2.5.1).
• The city of publication of a locally published newspaper must either be in the newspaper title
(e.g. The Vancouver Sun) or added to the title in square brackets (e.g. The Province [Vancouver]
(p. 111, 2.6.1) You do not need to provide city of publication if the paper is published nationally
(e.g. National Post or The Globe and Mail).
• Specify the edition if indicated (e.g. "natl. ed."; "late ed.") (pp. 38-39).
• Month short forms: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec (p.
95, 1.6.1).
• If the article was found online through an online database, include the name of the database in
italics (e.g. Canadian Newsstream or PressReader), and the date of access (p. 32; p. 53).
Film, video, or television episode
Parenthetical (in-text)
Where possible, incorporate the title of the film, video, or television episode in the text of your
research paper rather than using a parenthetical reference. For example:
Ichikawa's Burmese Harp, narrating the experience of Japanese soldiers stationed in Burma
during the Second World War, was one of the first films to depict the wartime experience from
the perspective of the Japanese army.
If you choose to use in-text citations with time-based media, such as film or video recordings, you will
also need to cite the relevant time or time ranges. Times should be denoted as the hours, minutes, and
seconds displayed on the media player, separating the numbers with colons (p. 57). For example:
Elinor's frustrations and inner turmoil manifest in her response to Marianne's question ("Sense
and Sensibility" 01:42:10--1:43:04).
Works cited
To cite film itself
The Burmese Harp [Biruma no tategoto]. Directed by, Kon Ichikawa, Nikkatsu, 1956.
To cite the director's contribution
Ichikawa, Kon, director. The Burmese Harp [Biruma no tategoto]. Nikkatsu, 1956.
To cite the performer's contribution
Kang-ho, Song, performer. The Host[Gwoemul]. Directed by Joon-ho Bong.
Showbox Entertainment, 2006. Criterion, 2007.
To cite an online video
North Carolina State University Libraries. "Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate
Students". YouTube. North Caroline State U, 30 June 2009.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2d7y_r65HU. Accessed 23 July 2016.
Film without an author
"Hurricane Katrina: The Drive: New Orleans Lower 9th Ward." YouTube. New Orleans Video Access
Center, 16 June 2006. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubbjgLDKGyk. 13 Nov. 2015.
To cite an episode from a television series
"The 9-8." Brooklyn Nine-Nine, season 1, episode 15, Fox, 9 Feb. 2016.
"Ruby Slippers." Once Upon a Time, season 5, episode 18, ABC Studios, 17 Apr.
2016. Netflix,www.netflix.com/watch/512380. Accessed 23 July 2016.
Comments
• It is not necessary to list performers, but performers or producers can be included if it seems
relevant (p. 24; p. 38).
• For content accessed online, also include "Date of Access" to show when you accessed the
online material (p. 53).
• Include the original release date for the film, video, etc.; dates should be expressed in the form
you deem most appropriate (pp. 43-44). For example, you may choose to only write the year
when citing a film, and write the full date when citing an episode of a television series.
• When working with authors with variant forms of names (ex. YouTube usernames), see p. 102
(2.1.1)
• For films, TV episodes, online videos, etc. with multiple publication dates, see p. 42.
• For audio recordings, see p. 28 & p. 39.
Book, single author
Parenthetical (in-text)
Caughie examines the confusion surrounding definitions of modernism in the humanities and social
sciences (1).
(Danto 31)
Works Cited
Caughie, Pamela L., editor. Disciplining Modernism. Palgrave, 2009.
Danto, Arthur C. Beyond the Brillo Box: The Visual Arts in Post-Historical Perspective. Farrar, 1992.
Comments
• When providing a publisher's name, omit business words such
as Company ("Co."), Corporation ("Corp."), Limited ("Ltd."), etc. In the case of academic presses,
replace "University press" with "UP"; if with the words are separated, replace them with "U"
and/or "P". In all other instances, publishers' names should be provided in their entirety (p.
97, 1.6.4):
o e.g. U of Chicago P, MIT P, Oxford UP.
• If you are citing a work without page numbers, it is preferable to include the author's name and
work in your essay instead of in a parenthetical reference. You can also cite simply the author
information in the parenthetical reference:
o e.g. Their determination exceeds that of most participants (Libtim)
Book, multiple authors
Parenthetical (in-text)
(Messenger and de Bruyn 305-09) [Two authors]
(Unsworth et al. 107) [More than three authors]
Works Cited
Messenger, William E., and Jan de Bruyn. The Canadian Writer's Handbook. 2nd ed. Prentice-Hall, 1986.
Unsworth, Len, et al. Children's Literature and Computer-Based Teaching. Open UP, 2005.
Comments
• List the author's/editor's names in the order in which they are given on the book's title page (pp.
21 - 22).
• The first author's name should be written in the inverse (e.g. Unsworth, Len) (pp. 21 - 22).
• The names of the other authors can be written in natural language (e.g. Angela Thomas) (pp. 21
- 22).
• If there are three authors or more, give the name of the first author in the inverse followed by
"et al." (pp. 21 - 22).
• A book may be produced by an individual or group whose role is not that of author (for example,
editor or translator). In this case, follow the name of the individual(s) with a label that describes
their role(s) (pp. 22-23):
o e.g. Sullivan, Alan, and Timothy Murphy, translators. Beowulf. Edited by Sarah
Anderson, Pearson 2004.
• If citing multiple works by the same author, refer to p. 113 (section 2.7.2) of the MLA Handbook
8th Ed.
Book, corporate author
Parenthetical (in-text)
(CBC 228)
A study prepared by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation analyzed [...] (228).
Works Cited
The CBC: A Perspective. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1978 [Work published by organisation that
is also the author]
Comments
• A corporate author is an agency, body or organization that commissions a publication in its
name. The names of individual authors are not included on the publication's title page.
• If the corporate author is also the publisher, then the corporate name should only be included in
the citation as publisher, and the citation should begin with the title of the work (p. 25; p.
104, 2.1.3). In parenthetical citations, the title of the work may be shortened (e.g. "The CBC : A
Perspective" is shortened to "CBC" in the above example).
• If the corporate author's name begins with an article such as The, A, or An, omit the article in
the citation.
• If the author's name is long, it is better to include the name in the text, so that the flow of the
writing is not interrupted (see the second example above).
• If citing works by government agencies, refer to p. 104 (section 2.1.3) of the MLA handbook 8th
Ed.
Book, no author or editor
Parenthetical (in-text)
(Book of Boy's Stories 20)
Works Cited
A Book of Boy's Stories. Blackie, 1937.
Comments
• When referring to the work in the body of your essay, use the title of the work in the in-text
citation (pp. 55-56). Omit articles (e.g. The, A, An) in in-text citations (pp. 117-118, 3.2.1)
• In the list of works cited, alphabetize anonymous works by title (p. 24). Disregard articles (for
example: The, A, And) when organizing your works cited list (p. 115, 2.7.4).
Book chapters & works in anthologies (works by different
authors)
Parenthetical (in-text)
(Irwin and Cressey 141-46)
Works Cited
Irwin, John, and Donald R. Cressey. "Thieves, Convicts and the Inmate Culture." The Inmate Prison
Experience, Edited by Mary K. Stohr and Craig Hemmens, Pearson, 2004, pp. 135-82.
Comments
• If the book has a compiler instead of an editor, write "Compiled by" instead of "Edited by".
Online book (entire / chapter)
Parenthetical (in-text)
(Hartley 85)
(Cook 135)
Works Cited
Hartley, C. Gasquoine. Women's Wild Oats: Essays on the Re-Fixing of Moral Standards. Stokes,
1920. Archive, archive.org/details/womenswildoatse00hartgoog. Accessed 31 Mar. 2016.
Cook, David. "Global Radical Islam and Martyrdom Operation." Understanding Jihad. U of California P,
2005. 128-61.NetLibrary. ebscohost/com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk. Accessed 14 June
2016.
Comments
• When citing an online book, include the same publication details as when citing a print book. In
addition, include in italics the title of the database or the website where the book was retrieved
and the URL (p. 34).
• You may also choose to include the date of access ("Accessed day/month/year") (p. 53).
• When citing a particular chapter, place the chapter title in quotation marks and between the
author's name and the title of the book (see second example above).
Conference proceedings
Parenthetical (in-text)
(Brewin, Paul, and Monita 19)
(The Workshop for )
Works cited
Brewin, M.K., A.J. Paul, and M. Monita, editors. Bull Trout II Conference Proceedings: Ecology and
Management of Northwest Salmonids, 17-20 Nov. 1999, Canmore, AL. Calgary, Trout, 2001.
Proceedings without an editor
10th International Workshop on Accelerator Alignment, February 11-15, 2008, Tsukua, Japan. Stanford
Linear Accelerator Center, SPIRES-HEP.
One presentation in the proceedings
Kolda, Christopher. "Flavor Physics in the LHC era: The (Supersymmetric) Case for a SuperB
Factory." Super B III: The Third Workshop on a Super Flavor Factory based on Linear Collider
Technology, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, 14-16 June, 2006. Edited by David Hitlin, David
MacFarlane & John Seeman. Standford Linear Accelerator Center,SPIRES-HEP.
Comments
• When citing a published conference proceeding in your paper, provide the same information as
when citing a book but also include additional information such as the title and date of the
conference.
• If citing a single presentation at a conference, provide the author and title of the presentation
and details about the conference proceedings in the same format as citing a chapter in a book
(see the third example above).
• If you are citing an anonymous work, use the title of the work (or an abbreviated form of it) in
the parenthetical (in-text) citation and alphabetize by the title of the work in the Works Cited list.
Custom courseware
Comments
• Custom courseware packages are compilations of journal articles, book chapters and other
materials selected by your instructor. The MLA manual does not give specific advice about citing
these materials, so you will have to use your judgment and come up with your own solution.
• If you need to cite a source from a Custom Courseware package, we recommend that you check
with your instructor.
However, here are two possible approaches to citing this type of material:
Find the full, original citation
Find the full citation where the article, chapter, etc. was originally published, and cite accordingly. The
full citations may be included on the first page of the course pack. If the full citation is not included
within the course pack, try finding the citation via Citation Finder, Library Search, Catalogue Search, or
a database.
Treat the Courseware package as an anthology
Treat the article, chapter, etc. as if it was part of an anthology, or edited book. If you take this approach,
credit the instructor who did the compilation as a book editor/compiler.
You will probably not have the page numbers, since the Custom courseware is not a true publication and
is not paginated throughout.
You will also have to include the name of the compiler, the title of the Courseware, the name of the
course (e.g. CMNS 210), the semester (e.g. Spring 2006) and the publisher (Simon Fraser University).
Bear in mind that someone trying to find the article/chapter from a course pack you cited might not
have access to the same course pack.
Encyclopedias and dictionaries
Parenthetical (in-text)
(Bergmann 502)
("Cronstedtite")
Works cited
Bergmann, Peter G. "Relativity." The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Macropaedia. 15th ed. 29 vols.
Britannica, 2002.
"Cronstedtite." The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. OED
Online. www.oed.com/view/Entry/44734?redirectedFrom=Cronstedtite#eid. Accessed 14 June
2016.
Comments
• Citing an encyclopedia article or dictionary entry is similar to citing a chapter in an anthology in a
book.
• Include the author's name (if available), the article or entry title, the title of the reference work.
• If the work was accessed online, include the database used and the URL. You may also choose to
include access date.
• If the article or entry is unsigned, provide the title first.
Indirect sources
Parenthetical (in-text)
As Marcel Proust reminisced: "There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those . . .
we spent with a favourite book (qtd. in Wolf, 6).
1
Works cited
Wolf, Maryanne. Proust and the Squid: The Story of the Reading Brain. Harper, 2007.
Comments
• Whenever possible, take material from the original source, rather than citing an indirect
source (p. 124, 3.4)
• If the original source is not available, cite the indirect (secondary) source, i.e. the one you have
in hand ("Wolf")
o "qtd." stands for "quoted."
• You may document the original source ("Proust") in a footnote; provide a number for a footnote
(p. 124, 3.4), e.g.:
1
See Marcel Proust, On Reading (New York: Macmillan, 1971), 3, qtd. in Wolf,
6.
• If you create a footnote for the original source, you will also need to create an entry for the
original source in the list of Works Cited.
Lecture, speech, reading or address
Parenthetical (in-text)
(Crespi)
In his discussion of the evolution and nature of the fossil record, Professor Dunlop emphasized. . . .
Works cited
Crespi, Bernie. "Darwin and Your Brain." Vancouver Evolution Festival. Simon Fraser University and
University of British Columbia, 12 Feb. 2009, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver. Lecture.
Dunlop, Robbie. Earth Sciences 106: Earth Through Time. 11 Mar. 2010, Simon Fraser University,
Burnaby. Class lecture.
Comments
• When citing an oral presentation, like a class lecture, give:
o the speaker's name
o the title of the presentation in quotation marks, if known
o the name of the sponsoring organization
o the date
o the venue
o the location. The city may be omitted if part of the venue name (e.g. Vancouver
Convention Centre) (p. 50).
• Provide a descriptive label (Address, Lecture, Keynote speech, Reading) to indicate the type of
presentation after the location (p. 52).
• If you are citing a class lecture, provide the lecture title in quotation marks after the professor's
name, the course name and course number after the lecture title and add the word "Class
lecture" (without quotation marks) after the location.
• If your class lecture does not have a title, provide the course name and course number after the
professor's name and write "Class lecture" (without quotation marks) after the location.
Tables
Place the citation immediately below the table:
Source: Intl. Monetary Fund, "Current and Forward-Looking Indicators," World Economic Outlook.
Monetary Fund, 2009.
Figures
Place the citation immediately below the figure
A photograph by the author of the book:
Fig. 1. Italian manhole cover, photograph from Mia Fuller, "Preservation and Self-Absorption," Italian
Colonialism, edited by Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Mia Fuller, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
Citing a photograph in book reprinted from another source:
Fig. 2. Wladek Cygianiewicz Zybszko, photograph from Augustus Sherman, Augustus Sherman Collection,
Ellis Island Immigration Museum, Ellis Island; reprinted in Erica Rand, The Ellis Island Snow Globe, Duke
UP, 2005, 93.
Comments
• When including a table in your paper, label and number the table (e.g. Table 1, Table 2) and
provide a title for the table that is descriptive of the table's content. Include the source of the
table in a caption immediately below the table.
• All other illustrative visual material (e.g., a picture, map, graph or chart) except musical
illustrations included in your paper should be labeled "Fig," assigned a number and given a
caption.
• Musical illustrations are labeled "Ex." instead of 'Fig."
• If complete bibliographical information about the source of the table or illustration is provided
in the caption, and the source is not mentioned in your paper, you do not need to include an
entry for the source in the list of works cited.
• Cite tables and figures according to regular MLA rules except:
o Use commas instead of periods when citing tables and figures, except for the period at
the end of the citation.
o Format the author's name with the given name before the family name, (e.g. Mia Fuller,
not Fuller, Mia).
Website
Parenthetical (in-text)
Author information integrated into the text
Quinion explains that this use of the phrase is not redundant.
(Dyches)
("Biggest war")
Works cited
Quinion, Michael. "Arms Akimbo." World Wide Words. Oct. 1999. Web. Accesed 26 July 2005.
Dyches, Preston. "Cassini Finds Flooded Canyons on Titan." NASA, 10 Aug. 2016.
www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/cassini-finds-flooded-canyons-on-titan. Accessed 10 Aug. 2016.
"The biggest war in animal history." Kottke, 10 Aug. 2016. kottke.org/16/08/the-biggest-war-in-animal-
history. Accessed 10 Aug. 2016.
Comments
• If there is no author, use the title (shortened, if necessary) in place of the author in your in-text
citations. For more information on how to abbreviate titles, refer to p. 117, 3.2.1.
• When citing a website in Works Cited, provide as much as possible of the following information
(5.6.2):
o Author's name. If no author is listed, start with the title of the document (p. 24; pp. 55-
56.
o Title of the document (in quotation marks or italicized) (pp. 68-70, 1.2.2).
o Title of the overall website (italicized, if distinct from the title of the document) (pp. 68-
70, 1.2.2).
o Publisher or sponsor of the site; if the website title is essentially the same as that of its
publisher, publisher information may be omitted from the reference (p. 42).
o Date of publication.
• Include the URL of the webpage (p. 48; p. 110, 2.5.2).
• Include the date of access (p. 32; p. 53).
• If there are no page or paragraph numbers, the MLA guide recommends that you incorporate
the name of the author in the text of your paper. You may also cite author's name in
parentheses without a page or paragraph number, if you prefer (p. 56).
• Include a URL only if the site is too difficult to find without it, or if an instructor requires it. Only
break a URL between two lines after a single or double slash. Do not use a hyphen to connect
the URL between the two lines (5.6.1).
